Fluidata accuses BT of using line rental as a 'cash cow'

Fibre broadband provider Fluidata has launched an attack on BT, accusing the firm of using line rental as a cash cow.

Piers Daniell, Managing Director of Fluidata, has claimed that, with the advent of fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services, the need for a phone line is diminishing.

"With the likes of Skype offering land line style services, mobile phone companies offering millions of free minutes, home signal boosters and so forth the concept of having a [landline] becomes less important," he wrote in a blog posting.

Mr Daniell offered the view that few FTTP customers would choose to take landline services if they were not mandatory for a broadband connection.

"Let's ignore for a moment as to why a 100-year-old technology, which has been paid for many times over, actually costs more than it did this time last year," he stated.

"The problem is nobody has told BT, and through the actions of their retail department recently upping the cost of line rental, it has allowed it to market even cheaper broadband services."

Mr Daniell noted that full-fibre FTTP services do not need a phone line, so as competition hots up, line rental income streams may start to dry up.

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